PROBLEMS OF PART-TIME STUDENTS IN GHANA: Implications For Distance Education

Learning for self development and professional development has almost become a
necessity in the face of rapid technological advancement, knowledge explosion and
socio-economic change among others; and for most adults combining work with
study may be the only way out for them to further their education. Part-time study is
thus becoming trendy worldwide including Ghana. But it also comes with its
challenges. This paper sought to find out what these problems are in Ghana. The
survey design was used with the questionnaire being the principal instrument and
data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. There were 160 students who were
sampled from four institutions offering part-time study in Accra. Three of them were
offering professional courses with City Campus of University of Ghana offering
academic courses.
The findings revealed that part-time students have problems relating to family
responsibilities, work, institutional commitments and finance among others. The
findings indicated that course deliveries at the distance need to be flexible in terms of
structure and time. Distance education provision must consider fee payments in
instalments in order to retain the students in the learning activities.